Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Shell Card using Tim Holtz's Nautical Blueprint Stamp Set

We have a great theme this week at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog: on/under the sea.  I decided to use this particular seashell stamp from Tim Holtz because it reminds me of a shell my grandma gave to me and my brother when we were little.  Being kids, I guess we thought it would be fun to see what random objects would fit inside the shell.  Long story short, this shell remains on my bookcase decades later with a colorful spinning top permanently wedged inside it.  Though the details of who did what in that incident have gotten hazy over the years (or maybe it's selective memory), I love that shell with the little plastic top stuck inside!

I made a collaged background panel, then stamped the shell on a white piece of paper.  I colored it with Distress Watercolor Pencils, then cut a frame shape with AALL & Create's Driplight die.  I painted the frame, then I found a quote from Dina Wakley's ledger paper pages and cut that out to add to the card.  

For another layer, I cut a piece of kraft cardstock for the base of the card and trimmed the edges with Tim Holtz's Deckle Edge Trimmer.  I glued the collaged panel on top of that, then added the shell, frame and quote.  I flicked on some Dina Wakley Media Gloss to finish it off.

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• Tim Holtz Nautical Blueprint
• StencilGirl 70's Textile Design Stencil
• AALL & Create's Driplight Die
• Dina Wakley Ledger 2 Paper
• Tim Holtz Deckle Edge Trimmer
• Distress Watercolor Pencils, Set 4
• Dina Wakley Media Watery Gloss Dropper
• Dina Wakley Paint
• Ranger Jet Black Archival Ink

We're excited to see your interpretation of the on/under the sea theme.  Upload your creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Tag using AALL & Create's Miss Dee on Crafting

 Welcome to another Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!  This week's theme is "punny/funny," which I think is an entertaining one.  I decided to use a quote from AALL & Create that made me smile.  There's actually a lot of truth in those words!

I started by making a painted and stamped collage.

While that dried, I made a second collage in a different color palette.

I cut the blue collage into a tag shape and cut the orange collage into a card shape which I punched some circles out of.  Then I glued the orange card to the blue tag.

This combo was looking iffy, so I added some other paint and stamped some more Tim Holtz images to the front.  Then I grabbed some paper scraps from the Paper Play book, cut circles out of one piece, and added scraps to the top and bottom.

I glued the panel to the side, then stamped my sentiment, cut it into strips and stuck it on the front to finish out my tag.

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• AALL & Create Miss Dee on Crafting Stamp Set
• Simon Says Stamp Luggage Tags Die Set
• Tim Holtz Deconstructed Stamp Set
• Archival Ink: Crushed Olive, Jet Black
• Watercolors
• Dina Wakley Paint
• Paper Play Book
• Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks 5
• Mama Elephant Artist Trading Card Die Set
• We R Makers Layered Circles Punch Set
• Distress Watercolor Pencils, Set #5

We'd love to see your punny/funny creations!  Upload them to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Happy Birthday Tag using Kate Crane's KCM023 Stamp

Happy 16th Birthday to Simon Says Stamp!  To honor that impressive milestone, "Happy Birthday" is this week's Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge theme.  We're also featuring products from Paper Artsy.  Seth Apter and Kate Crane, both of whom I really like, have designed stamp sets for Paper Artsy.  I've used some of their stamps on my birthday tag.

I started by cutting a tag shape using AALL & Create's Hexalove tag die set.  Then I stamped some of Seth Apter's circle images (from ESA35) onto the tag to form a pattern.

I added paint and patterned paper to the circles and did some additional stamping (the small dots are from Seth's EM124 set).  Before long, my tag looked like this:

I chose one of Kate Crane's stamps (KCM 023) for the focal point and colored the image with Distress Watercolor Pencils.

I added her to the front of the tag and then did some more scribbling, stamping, and painting around.  I stamped the sentiment, cut it out, and glued it to the bottom.  Since we are celebrating Simon's 16th year, I stamped a "16" on a piece of paper, cut it, and added it to my girl.  Happy Birthday, Simon!

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• AALL & Create Hexalove Tag Die Set
• Paper Artsy Seth Apter Stamps: ESA35 (big circles), EM124 (small dots), ESA34 (background text)
• Paper Artsy Kate Crane Stamp (KCM023)
• Watercolors
• Dylusions Paint
• Dina Wakley Paint
• Ranger Archival Ink: Crushed Olive and Jet Black
• Distress Watercolor Pencils: Set 4
• Dina Wakley Media Soft Bristle Brush Set

Upload your birthday creations to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a special $50  voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Mini Mixed Media Pages using Brutus Monroe Grunge Type Creative Cards

We are getting stitchy this week at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog!  Yes - just incorporate any sort of stitching and you'll hit the challenge theme.  I made some mini journal pages with stitched elements here and there.

I started with this mini notebook, which I made from chipboard and then bound.  I collaged on both pages.

Next I cut out a number 4 from Brutus Monroe's Grunge Type Creative cards as well as some circles (negative and positive shapes) from AALL & Create's Film Drip die set.  I painted the circles and frames.  I also tore out a scrap of patterned paper from Amy Tangerine's Paper Play book and sewed across it with my sewing machine.

I attached the 4 to my page and did some scribbling around it with Distress Watercolor Pencils.

Last week, I made some earrings that were made with fabric scraps.  I decided to use some of those leftover fabric scraps and incorporate them into my pages.  I glued some fabric onto the page on the left and sewed some fabric scraps together for the page on the right.  I attached my little fabric scrap bundle with a loop pin.

On a secret project disaster sidenote here, notice how the 4 is totally ripped and wrinkled in the finished project versus how it was in the previous photo.  I had glued it on crooked and it was driving me nuts, so I tried to rip it off the page and re-glue it.  But the glue won and I ended up with a bit of a ripped mess that I had to try to piece back together.  But it all worked out in the end!

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• AALL & Create: Film Drip Die Set
• Tim Holtz THMM113 Dot Stencil and Stamp Set
• Amy Tangerine's Paper Play Book
• Brutus Monroe Grunge Type Creative Cards
• Distress Watercolor Pencils: Set 2 and Set 3
• Tim Holtz Multi Collage Eclectic Elements Fabric
• Odile Bailloeul Festiva Fabric Bundle
• Tim Holtz Loop Pin
• Dina Wakley Paint

We're excited to see how you incorporate stitching into your projects!  Upload them to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store.

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: "One You" Earrings using AALL & Create's Power Words Washi Tape, Loop Pins, and Fabric Scraps

We've made it to another Monday and it is a sweltering one here in my neck of the woods.  I hope you're all surviving in whatever summer conditions you're living in at the moment!  Stay where it's comfortable and keep being crafty.  After all, we have a great theme this week over at the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge of "add some text".  I decided to make earrings that say, when put together, "one you."  It was meant to remind me that each one of us is unique and one-of-a-kind, even though we can strengthen each other through shared experiences.

I started with some pieces of thin metal that I painted, then cut into rectangular shapes.  I stuck some AALL & Create washi tape to the top half of the rectangles.

Next I colored some blue and green stripes onto white paper using Distress Watercolor Pencils.  I glued the striped paper to the bottom of the rectangles.

I added some paint to my rectangles, then I got out some white beads and colored them with alcohol ink in shades of yellow and green.

I used Tim Holtz's Multi Collage Eclectic Elements cloth to cut out some numbers.  Then I sewed the numbers to some Odile Bailloeul Festival fabric.

I stuck my fabric scraps onto Tim Holtz's loop pins.  With my fabric scraps ready, I stamped "one" and "you" (from a Simon Birthday Greetings stamp set) onto paper, cut out the words, and glued those to the rectangles.  I added more paint to my metal rectangles and punched some holes out of the rectangles with my Crop-A-Dile.  I loaded some beads onto more loop pins, added a few last beads and these earrings were finished!

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• AALL & Create: Power Words Washi Tape
• Distress Watercolor Pencils, Set 2
• Alcohol Ink: Sunshine and Lettuce
• Simon Says Stamp: Inside Greetings Birthday Stamp Set
• Archival Ink: Barn Door
• Tim Holtz Multi Collage Eclectic Elements Cloth
• Odile Bailloeul Festival Fabric Fat Quarter Bundle
• Crop-A-Dile
• Tim Holtz Loop Pins
• Dina Wakley Paint

Add some text to a project and upload it to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog if you want a chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!

Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge: Altered Notebook Cover - Not Alone using Dina Wakley Paint, Watercolors, and Tim Holtz Photobooth Images

Hello and welcome to another Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge!  Our theme this week is "Fun with Paint," and that is certainly a joy for me to do!  I love the versatility of paint and use it all the time.  I decided to make a notebook cover using acrylic paint and watercolors.  I like how acrylic paint can be pretty opaque and dries quickly.  I like how watercolors are so fluid and translucent.  They both  bring interesting qualities to the table for sure!

I started by making a collage using acrylic paint and watercolors.  I did some scribbling with Dina Wakley's Scribble Sticks and also flicked on some Dina Wakley Gloss Spray in black and white.

Next I cut my collage to the size I needed for the cover of a small notebook.  I stamped some plus signs (from Tim Holtz's Media Media 2 stamp set) and heat-embossed them on blue paper.

I cut the blue paper into a frame shape and glued that to my painted background.  I blended it in with more paint.

Next I took some Tim Holtz photobooth images and cut them down into smaller squares.  I wrinkled them and sanded them a bit to give them more of a distressed look.  I added some blue and white polka dot paper up the side, but didn't like how it looked and covered it up at the end.

I added some polka-dotted brown paper to the side instead and typed a "not alone" sentiment.  I felt like this group of women represented a universal support system that I have seen in my own life.  What power can come from a group of good women!  I sewed the collage to a small notebook cover and this project was done.

Here are the supplies I used that you can find at Simon Says Stamp:

• Dina Wakley Paint
• Watercolors
• Distress Embossing Ink
• White Embossing Powder
• Heat Tool
• Tim Holtz's Mixed Media 2 Stamp Set
• Distress Watercolor Pencils, Set 1 and Set 4
• Dina Wakley Scribble Sticks, Set 5
• Tim Holtz Photobooth Images

We're looking forward to seeing how you incorporate paint into your projects this week.  Upload your challenges to the Simon Says Stamp Monday Challenge Blog for your chance to win a $25 voucher to the Simon Says Stamp store!